Gwangju City Councilor Park Mijeong Holds Policy Forum... "Efforts to Establish the Labor Director System"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] The Gwangju Metropolitan Council announced on the 18th that it held a policy forum on the 17th under the theme of ‘Establishing Measures for the Labor Director System in Gwangju Metropolitan City.’

At the forum, Park Mi-jung (The Minjoo Party·Dong-gu 2) served as the chairperson and presided over the discussion, while Professor Kim Sang-bong (Department of Philosophy, Chonnam National University) presented the keynote speech.

Professor Kim Sang-bong stated in his presentation, “The labor director system for realizing economic democratization is about creating a culture where labor and management recognize and respect each other,” and based on overseas cases, he suggested the direction Gwangju should take going forward.

Discussants included Choi Jin-seok, Chairman of the Seoul Metropolitan Labor Director Council; Eo Kyung-jun, Chairman of the Gyeonggi-do Labor Director Council; Jo Il-kwon, Chairman of the Gwangju Metropolitan Labor Director Council; Roh Kyung-soo, President of Gwangju Urban Corporation; Lee Jung-soo, Chairman of the Gwangju Urban Railroad Labor Union; and Oh Kyung-bok, Section Chief of the Gwangju Metropolitan City Budget Department.

The discussants agreed on the necessity of the labor director system and shared experiences from Seoul and Gyeonggi-do where the system had been operated, discussing the current limitations and issues of the labor director system.

They also exchanged various opinions on the establishment of higher-level laws related to the labor director system, strengthening the capabilities of labor directors, and changing the perceptions of both management and workers.

The labor director system is a system where worker representatives participate as members of the board of directors in company management matters.

It is a system that views workers as key stakeholders in corporate management and grants them opportunities to participate in decision-making. It originated in Germany and several European countries and was first introduced and implemented in South Korea by Seoul City in 2016.

Assemblywoman Park Mi-jung said, “The labor director system began as a joint decision-making mechanism for anticipated risks in industrial sites,” adding, “There are movements to introduce the labor director system mainly in the public sector, and realistically, the council will take the lead in revising ordinances and striving for the establishment of the labor director system by working with related departments so that the system can be settled and labor directors can actively participate.”

Gwangju City has been operating under the ‘Gwangju Metropolitan City Labor Director System Operation Ordinance,’ enacted in 2017.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.